ANAHEIM, Calif. — Joe Girardi is good at keeping baseball information close to the vest, but when it comes to the people he cares about, he wears his heart on his sleeve

Soon after getting word of George Steinbrenner’s passing yesterday, Girardi was hurting and you could see it in his eyes. He loved the Boss.

“I am sure he’s looking down on us and is very proud of what we accomplished last year,” Girardi told the Post. “This is a man that I think did not ever get enough credit for the way he cared about people. But the way he gave people second chances and third chances, he really tried to makes people’s lives better. I know he changed my life, completely.”

Those are strong words, but that is the kind of emotion that Steinbrenner evoked, in Pinstripe friends and in foe alike.

Angels centerfield and All-Star Torii Hunter told the Post, “Mr. Steinbrenner left his mark on the game. He did great things for baseball, great things for the Yankees. Growing up as a kid, I knew who George Steinbrenner was. It was just like knowing who Jackie Robinson is, he was just as big.

“He did some great things for baseball, some loved it some hated it,” Hunter added. “But at the same time, at the end of the day, he put the product on the field and he ended up winning those [seven] World Series. You got to respect him for that. No matter what anybody says, he always tried to put a championship caliber team out there.”

Later, at Angel Stadium, Girardi noted how Steinbrenner was always driven to win, even when the Yankees were on top. There was no rest.

“We won in 1996,” Girardi said, “and we were told that he was already planning for 1997 when they were planning the parade: ‘How are we going to win this year?’ I think he truly loved it and probably felt that it was a huge accomplishment but he never rested in it.”

Steinbrenner’s personal touch wasn’t lost on Alex Rodriguez.

“In 2004 he wrote me a note, and it was hand-delivered by a clubhouse kid and at that point I got a little nervous, and it said: ‘I’m counting on you,’ with capital letters and exclamation point,” Rodriguez said. “So I think to this day we are still playing for him, not to let him down.”